‘When Gill was injured, he did not come out to bat’ – Former batter slams Gautam Gambhir for risking Washington Sundar

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has criticised the Indian team management for allowing an injured Washington Sundar to bat during the first ODI against New Zealand, calling the decision a “wrong call” and pointing out what he described as double standards in player protection.

The incident occurred during India’s chase of 301 runs in Vadodara on Sunday. Sundar, who was nursing an injury, walked out to bat late in the innings and remained unbeaten on seven off seven balls as KL Rahul guided India to a comfortable victory. However, shortly after the match, Sundar was ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series and was replaced by Ayush Badoni in the squad.

Kaif questioned the approach of the Gautam Gambhir-led team management, drawing a comparison with how Shubman Gill was handled during the recent Test series against South Africa.

“You will remember when Shubman Gill was injured, he did not come out to bat in that Test match, the Kolkata Test. It was a high-scoring game, and people thought that even 20 or 30 runs from him could help India win, but he still did not bat. That was done to give full protection to the player so the injury would not aggravate. But the same approach was not applied to Sundar. That is why I feel it was a wrong call. KL Rahul’s running between the wickets was affected. Even though India won the match, I feel there were higher chances of aggravating the injury in yesterday’s game,” Kaif said on his Youtube channel 

Kaif further stated that while the decision worked in India’s favour on the scoreboard, it carried unnecessary risk and could potentially lengthen the player’s recovery time.

“If he is injured and you need runs at a run-a-ball, you should first try someone else. When a player is injured, and you send him in under pressure, the injury can worsen. He couldn’t run doubles even though the ball was going to deep point or square leg, and he was only managing singles. Although the required run rate was around a run-a-ball and the match was under control, I felt that sending an injured player was risky. What might have been a one-week or ten-day injury could stretch to 20, 25, or even 30 days,” he added.

The former batter also suggested alternative options that could have been considered in the situation.

“I believe that was a wrong call. You could have sent Kuldeep Yadav, or anyone else, even Mohammed Siraj or Prasidh Krishna, if you just needed to play out the run-a-ball situation. Only when it becomes absolutely unavoidable, right at the end, should you send Washington Sundar,” Kaif asserted.

India currently leads the three-match ODI series 1-0, with the second match scheduled to be played in Rajkot on January 14.